Chapter 600: Theft at Qingzhu Residence

It has been a year since Xu Hei came to Leguo.

Xu Hei's Qingzhuju, which was unknown at the beginning, has become famous later. The guests are no longer limited to travelers. Occasionally, some familiar customers come to watch his wood carving skills.

For these guests, Xu Hei can only offer tea, but if someone wants to buy wood carvings at a high price, he will refuse.

Not seeking wealth or fame, but carving with one heart.

Gradually, Xu Hei got the name of Qingzhu Jushi.

…………

In winter, snowflakes fell, covering the earth with silver.

A bonfire was piled up in the yard, and the firewood was crackling and sparks were emitted. Xu Hei sat in front of the fire, holding a sculpture of an octopus in his hand. This is the octopus brother who likes to smoke, Wang Zhen.

"Squeak!"

The wooden fence opened, and an old man in a thick coat walked in. He carried a food box and sat down opposite Xu Hei.

"Layman, today is New Year's Eve. I brought some dishes and homemade plum wine!"

The old man opened the food box, took out two jars of plum wine and some side dishes, and placed them on the wooden table.

Xu Hei put down the wood carving of Octopus Brother and smiled, "Mr. Wu is too polite. It must be difficult to come here in the ice and snow."

"Oh!" Mr. Wu waved his hand and said, "It's boring at home. It's better to come here to drink with old friends."

The old man is called Mr. Wu, a famous carpenter in Yongle City. After hearing about Xu Hei's skills, he disdained it, but when he really saw it, he knew that there are people beyond people and heaven beyond heaven.

Once, he wanted to spend 100 taels of silver to buy a wood carving of Xu Hei, but was rejected by Xu Hei.

Since then, he often came to observe and learn, and regarded Xu Hei as a real master. Xu Hei also treated this person as a guest.

"Where are your descendants?" Xu Hei took the wine glass and asked curiously.

"Don't mention it! My descendants are having fun all day long, how can they care about me? What do they say about enjoying life so that you won't suffer after death? All my life savings have been squandered by them." Old Wu sighed and filled Xu Hei's glass with wine.

Xu Hei raised his eyebrows and said, "What do you think of the teachings of Changle Sect?"

When Old Wu heard this, his face froze, and then he said, "I... I think so too, but I am a carpenter, as long as I can make good works, this is my pleasure!"

Xu Hei just smiled, without saying much, picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

Three rounds of wine passed.

In front of Xu Hei, Old Wu seemed to have endless words to say, often complaining about the descendants of his family who were not motivated, and often expressing his ambition to make further progress in carpentry skills.

Unfortunately, mortals have their limits after all, and they can't be as ingenious as the legendary Mohist immortals. Xu Hei felt the same way, because even he couldn't bring the wood carving back to life.

The two of them were like close friends, drinking until the evening, when Old Wu left.

Xu Hei rarely went out, so he sent the drunk Old Wu back to the city to prevent him from getting drunk in the snow.

Back at Qingzhuju, Xu Hei sat by the campfire, looking at the empty yard, listening to the lights, firecrackers, and gongs and drums outside, and he suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.

This kind of emptiness was a feeling he had never had in his life.

"Is this a mortal?" Xu Hei whispered.

He couldn't understand the festivals of mortals, nor could he understand the happiness of mortals.

The joys and sorrows of people were not connected, Xu Hei only felt noisy, but now, he had a different experience.

That night, Wang Zhen's wood carving was completed.

Xu Hei took out a new piece of wood carving and drew the outline of a human figure. This was the mortal he met during his wanderings, A Long, the first human he carved.

…………

Unconsciously, time always flies fast.

In a blink of an eye, spring is coming.

After New Year's Eve, Xu Hei never saw Old Wu again. He seemed to have forgotten this person and immersed himself in his carving.

Now, Xu Hei has carved many people. In addition to the mortals he met along the way, Xiao Chou was also carved by him.

"Squeak!"

The wooden fence opened, and a noble man in luxurious clothes walked in from outside the yard and came to Xu Hei's side.

He looked at the wood carvings on the ground and Xu Hei who was concentrating, and stood aside respectfully without saying a word.

After waiting for an hour, until Xu Hei put down the human-shaped wood carving in his hand, he clasped his fists and said: "Mr. Qingzhu, my father, Mr. Wu, do you have any impression of me?"

"Mr. Wu."

Xu Hei pondered for a moment and nodded slightly.

"My father, Mr. Wu, passed away three days ago. Before he left, he was thinking about your work. I wonder if you can give it up and sell it to me. I am willing to pay 500 taels of silver." The noble young man said sincerely.

500 taels, this is already a sky-high price for ordinary people.

Xu Hei didn't say anything after hearing this, but he moved faster. In an instant, the human-shaped wooden sculpture in his hand took shape. This was an old man wearing a thick coat and holding a food box.

"Forget the silver, this thing is my gift." Xu Hei put the old man on the table.

The noble young man showed a look of joy on his face and bowed quickly: "Thank you, Mr. Layman! Thank you!"

He picked up the old man, clasped his fists excitedly, and then left.

A day later, Xu Hei heard the sound of suona coming from a distance. He went out to investigate and saw the old and young of the Wu family carrying the coffin out of the city for burial.

There was no sadness on their faces, only joy. This was the tradition of Le Country. Even the coffin was carried out on the shoulders of the descendants of the Wu family. They walked and danced strangely to send the dead to the paradise.

Xu Hei stayed in the crowd and witnessed the whole process.

He seemed to have a glimmer of enlightenment in his heart, and said to himself: "It's time to leave."

Xu Hei returned to Qingzhuju and planned to pack up and leave.

He would not stay in the same place for too long, mainly because he was afraid of being disturbed and recognized, which would affect him.

This trip to Le Country was enough.

Xu Hei bent down, picked up the wood carvings one by one, and put them into the package, but at this moment, he frowned and found something wrong.

The wood carvings were still the same as before, intact, but if you look closely, they lacked a bit of charm.

Whether it was the mortal he refined or the monster he had seen, they looked the same, but they lacked charm. They were not genuine, just like fakes.

Xu Hei's eyes flickered slightly, and he observed the traces in the yard and realized that someone had been here.

"Was it switched?"

Xu Hei sighed. He had expected this to happen.

Mortals could not see the clues of his wood carvings, and low-level monks could not see them either, but as long as they were monks who could comprehend the artistic conception, they would definitely be able to detect a hint.

But I didn't expect it to come so quickly.

These wood carvings were not valuable, but they were of great significance to Xu Hei. He stood up, looked in the direction of the horse country in the west, and took a step forward.

The next moment, Xu Hei disappeared on the spot.